Locking means for shade or reflector holders.



-T;w.R0L m LOCKING MEANS FOR SHADE 0R REFLECTOR HOLDERS. APPLICATION FILED 1ULY27.1918- 1,287,441. Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

Li if f i 1 Eii E l FTQ L f m '1 [L i I l6 i i 15 u iliuw g T l7 inventor:

ThomasWR lph,

/ H isALtorne vided a coil ment of the invention.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

-THOMAS W. ROLPH, OF SEBRING, OHIO. ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A I

CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

' LOCKING MEANS FOR SHADE OB REFLECTOR HOLDERS.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented Dec. it), 1938.

Application filed July 27, 1918. Serial No. 246,959.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS RoLrn, a citizen of the l nited States, residing at Sebring. county' of Mahoning, State of (lhioflhavc, invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locking Means for Shade or Reflector Holders, of which the following .is a specification.

My invention relates to holders for shades or reflectors. and more particularly to the screws which pass through such holders and engage the shade or reflector.

The object of my invention is to provide means for preventing the said screws from working loose or, in other words, from accidentally turning in such direction that they are retracted. A further object. of my invention is to construct the said means so that the said screws may be retracted whenever desired.

Accordin to my invention there is pro spring which normally closely engages a portion of the screw threads. One end of the spring is held from rotation by a relatively fixed part such as the shell of the reflector holder. The other end of the spring is free so that by pressing it in the proper direction the spring is loosened from the screw and allows the latter to be turned in the retracting direction. The construction is such that turning the screw in the direction to advance the same is possible as this slightlv unwinds the spring and lessens the frictional resistance of the spring against the screw. On the other hand, if it is attempted to turn the screw in such a direction as to retract same without pressing on the free end of the spring in the proper direction, the spring is tightened up, grips the screw tightly and prevents the turning of the same.

Mv mvention would be more clearly understood by referring to-the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is an elevation partlv in section showing an embodi- Figs. 2 and 3 are fragmentary sectional elevations showing on an enlarged scale the novel features of the invention and that portion of the holder with which they are associated.

Referring now to the drawing, 10 is a holder such as is ordinarily used to receive ,a Jacket of an electric incandescent lamp comprises a screw '11 having a knob 12 at the end thereof. Said screw asses through the shell of the holder 10 and engages the internally screw threaded reinforcement 13 carried thereby. The inner end of the screw ll engages the lip of a shade or reflector (not shown). -It is to prevent the screw 11 from being retracted accidentally that the present invention is applied and it comprises the helical spring 14, a plurality of turns. of which engage in the screw thread grooves of the screw 11. One end of the spring is held stationary by the shell of the holder 10, and as shown in the drawing,

tempted to turn the screw to the left" r in a counter clockwise direction the spring tends to wind up, which causes a greater binding effect on the screw. This effectually prevents any accidental rotation of the screw in such a direction as to retractthe same. If it.- is desired to retract. the sc'ew. the spring can be slightly unwound by pressing upon the free end 17, as shown in Fig. 3. This end of the spring is preferably extended so as to make it convenient to apply pressure to the same and to grip the knob 12 of the screw, both with the fingers of one hand.

it is to be understood that various modineations may be made with different relative locations of parts, different directions of screw thread and spring winding and in which a difierent end of the spring is held but these are to be considered -as coming within the scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. The combination with a holder and a shade supporting screw passing therethrough of a helical spring engaging said screw and having one end thereof held against rotation, said-spring being wound in such a direction that the turning of said screw to retract the same will wind up said spring.

2. The combination with a holder and a shade supporting screw passing therethrough of a helical spring engaging said screw having one end thereof held against rotation and the other end free and somewhat extended, said spring being wound in such a direction that the turning of said screw to retract the same Will wind up the spring.

3. The combination with a holder and a shade supporting screw passing therethrough of a helical spring engaging said screw having one end held against rotation by said holder and the other end free, said spring being wound in such a direction that 15 a turningof said screw to retract the same will wind up said spring. In'witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 23 day of J uly. 1,918.

THOMAS lV. RULPH; 

